School, Trips and Dogs

School is in full swing and I LOVE it. I love all of my classes but piano is by far my favorite thus far. I have a full course load but thankfully it's mostly two days a week with an hour a third day and two hours a fourth day. So I have plenty of time to take care of the house, the dogs and all my other responsibilities.

Max is loving his new second job and he's enjoying school although he's struggling a bit with math, he just needs to believe in himself more because as soon as he puts a little thought in it he gets it and gets it right every time! I'm so proud of my husband who is working both jobs or working and in class all day every day of the work week. I'm trying to make it easier on him by having dinner ready for him when he gets home and the dogs taken care of and I'm working on getting the house in tip-top shape, it's a work in progress.

Next weekend we are taking Charlie back. He posted a blog on the dogblog if you want to go read. He's currently laying by my desk chair and I'm liking this more mature version of the spazdoodle. Of course, as soon as he's due to be recalled I actually start liking him! It'll be a long trip to turn him in and we're planning on doing it in 2 days again so we don't miss work or school. It's a good 14 hour drive each ways but thankfully this time we will be getting a hotel room Saturday to sleep and get some real rest instead of camping like we did when we picked Charlie up.

Eva's doing really well right now. She's looking amazing for her and hasn't had any more stomach issues. She is now 23 months old and is having very little trouble. Her trouble ear does seem to be developing an infection again but hopefully we can nip it in the bud before it gets bad.

I'll leave you all with some pictures, there's not many, I need to get more but here's some. I have to get back to my homework.

Eva in the backyard before we moved in

 Some of the yummy blackberries in the yard.

 Trumpet vine in the backyard. It attracts hummingbirds and bees.

Color in the office/future nursery

The beige up on the wall. This color is in the livingroom/kitchen/laundry area and hallway. The white wall is now a sage color but the white wall shows the color pretty well.

 Our bedroom. The walls are a grayish blue.

 The first day Elijah was here he decided the only safe spot was on top of the fridge.

The above three pictures are what the dogs a were doing all night while I did my homework and updated the blogs.

More Changes!

Sorry I left you all hanging about the house situation. Here's the latest and greatest


WE'RE HERE!

We have been here for 5 nights so far and I must say, I LOVE it! It's just the right size for us and it's so nice having a yard for the dogs to play in instead of the living room! Almost everything is put away and organized, have some more kitchen stuff to clean and put away but that's the only major thing. So here we are, in our house and in only a couple more days Fall Term starts! I'm so excited! We went out and picked up my books today, Max still has some FA paperwork to fill out but hopefully we'll pick up his books on Thursday. I started reading my piano book and play on reading the first chapter or two of the other books and maybe doing some of the problems for Trig. as well.

So Max got a second job and he loves it! He works on computers and it's just right for him. It works with his current job and works with his school schedule. Plus it is exactly what he is going to school for, so I'm really happy for him.

Eva isn't doing too well.... we're two days into the "three day rule" for CRF (canine renal failure) dogs. We'll just wait and see what tomorrow brings.

Charlie is loving having a yard to play fetch in and play with Eva in. He's doing pretty good, just needs a new haircut and some commands solidified over the next 2.5 weeks before he goes into formal training.

No news on our next PIT as of yet but I get to "borrow" Galaxy for some classes and during Tabatha's lab which I'm really excited about. Galaxy is such a sweet, cute puppy :-)

I'll get the house all cleaned and organized right and get curtains and what not up this week and post some pictures for you all. I'm off to go read through some accounting books right now though!

Off-Topic?

My blogs have evolved through the years, going from having one about puppy raising, then having several and one about infertility and the struggle about that. I have closed (and deleted) most of them but the two active ones, but as I read through a blog today about adoption and the long battle this couple has had to become parents (5.5 years of fertility battles and over 2 years of waiting for an adoption match) and watching on twitter as they went to pick up their baby boy finally, I feel this need to write about our journey and our struggle again. It shouldn't be private and no matter what people's opinions may be about me or my fitfullness as a parent, it is a dream that Max and I will realize one day. Should I go back to another blog about fertility and my battle with my health? I am so happy for this couple who finally has a baby to lay in the crib they bought years ago and to fill the clothes that have layed empty in a dresser. I'll let you all know what we decide, but everyday is one day closer to us becoming parents and everday of being gluten-free is one more day closer to being that much more likely to be able to sustain a healthy pregnancy!

Another Week?

Moving has been put on hold.... again. But this time, at least it was our choice! Really stinks though because this weekend was AMAZING weather and it's suppossed to rain Fri-Mon (at the least) all next weekend. Oh well, it saves our sanity and that of our dogs! Our landlord decided that since the inside of the house looks so good now that he had to paint the exterior as well to match. Which means.... scrapping, scratching, sanding, washing, etc. the existing exterior paint! Which makes for a very loud, annoying, nails-on-a-chalkboard sound inside the house. The 20 minutes we were there while they were doing it on Friday just about drove me crazy (ier) and I can't imagine how my little canine babies would take it. On top of that, they took the large gate into the backyard down which means that we would still have to take the dogs out on leash anyway until they are done which sort of defeats the purpose of having a backyard for the dogs to play in. So we decided that moving is stressful enough on us and the dogs, we don't want them to have to deal with strange people coming in and out of the house and being outside their house working and talking and eating to stress them out more and have their first week (s?) there being so highly stressful that it sets a pattern in their behaviour for the new house. Although it kills me to put off moving for another week as Fall term inches closer and closer, it's what needs done. I doubt that by next weekend they will have painted the house, but hopefully they will finish the prep at least and can actually paint the house the next day it's not due to rain. I love the rainy season but it certainly isn't the best time to paint a house or move!

On another note, we went to Costco yesterday with my mom for the first real time. We walked up and down every aisle and got some amazing things! 40 lbs of dog food for $26, shampoo for thick hair, delicious gluten-free soup, a natural sugar alternative called Agave (used in a lot of gluten-free recipes), coffee (for Max), grape juice (for Max, I hate the stuff), eggs (split with Mom), strawberries (split with Mom and Ally), cheez-it (for Max), gluten-free crackers, laundry detergent and an amazing mat for in the kitchen to stand on while doing the dishes or cooking! I'm so excited about that because one of the reasons I don't cook as much as I would like to is that if I stand on hard surfaces my feet feel like the bones are going to tear through my skin and it kills me. I guess I should say that it's only when I'm standing still, it doesn't bother me when I'm walking or moving around and it's only for extended periods of time (an hour +). Oh, we also got some almonds to try and make some homemade almond flour. It's great for making breads, cakes, cookies, etc. and is naturally gluten-free and healthy, lower in calories and makes the baked goods have an amazingly fluffy texture! I love having Costco in town! It's so nice having Mom and Ally to split things with as well so we don't have a ton of food going bad on us!

Ok, well I better go continue packing and look at some terrier rescues for Carley. I'll have Eva explain why Carley can't stay with us on her blog and a post from Charlie will be up soon!

Itching!

I feel like my life is at a standstill at this point, it's not a good feeling. Hopefully we'll be moving this weekend, the house has carpet, wood laminate, lighting fixtures, etc. all in! Just working on some little things right now and getting the house ready to move in! It looks so much better and I know that when we do finally move it, it will be completely worth all the trouble that we went through, even though we will not be buying this house. The exterior is going to be getting painted as well after we move in.

I'm itching to find Carley a new home and to turn in Charlie (one month from today!) and to get our next puppy to raise. I'm itching to start school again and just move towards our goals.

I don't like feeling like we're at a standstill, although I love relaxing, I love feeling like I'm moving toward a goal or goals. I'm sure it will help once we move and what not, but for now, it feels like these last couple of weeks have dragged and it feels like these days until we move are just dragging by!

I know in no time I'll be fretting about our next puppy coming and about school and returning Charlie, it's just getting to that point.

Progress

The house is making progress, even though most days it feels painstakingly slow, it is nearing completion. Today we are going to finish the trim and doors and finish touch-up paint. Tomorrow the laminate flooring goes in, door knobs, lighting fixtures, wall plates, etc are installed and the front walkway will hopefully be finished. Then Tuesday-Wednesday the carpet will be installed. Then all there is from there is cleaning and exterminating and we get to move in. So it looks like at this point we will be moving in starting Friday!

After today Max and I will not be working on the house at all since we are done painting. We will take the days before the move to finish packing and cleaning this place and whatnot.

About the talk to buy the house, I doubt we will. This has been so stressful on me and we don't live there and don't have a strict move out date for our apartment. I can't imagine how stressed I would be living there while renovating or anything like that. Pictures to come soon!